Department says parent concerns about Mams schools being addressed
The department said the service provider removed the chemical toilets from both schools on April 24 after their contract expired.
The Gauteng Department of Education says necessary processes are underway to remedy the concerns of parents of Lesedi High School and Kutumela Molifi Primary School learners who disrupted teaching and learning last week in a bid to make their voices heard.
The parents of the learners at the Skierlik/Lethabong schools in Mamelodi have been complaining about water shortages at the schools, as well as the overcrowded school bus.
The department however condemned this disruption and urged all stakeholders to use available structures to raise issues of concern instead of disrupting schooling.
The parents claimed each school has only one tank to supply the whole school with drinking water and one bus to transport over 1 000 learners to and from school every day.
They said this transportation was clearly insufficient, and the water situation poses a health risk.
Departmental spokesperson Steve Mabona said the department is aware of water shortages and the necessary processes are underway to remedy the situation.
“There are 962 learners using scholar transport at Kutumela Molifi, with 12 buses currently servicing the school.
Lesedi has an enrolment of 1 752 learners, but the 12 buses are used by 1 572,” said Mabona adding that there is still a shortage of 11 buses.
“Consequently, scholar transport officials were dispatched to the school on April 29 to verify the facts.
The scholar transport policy dictates that learners who travel 5km or more to school qualify for scholar transportation.
In the interim, buses shuttle between pick-up points.”
Ward 100 community leader Sipho Mtshweni said: “We have engaged with the department, district, and school principals about these issues but it seems none of them has an answer.
But we are talking about children going to school where there is no water, meaning the toilets are not working. It is unhygienic and unhealthy.
Our children arrive at school late because only one bus is operating, and it is expected to transport over 1 000 learners every day.
Our children don’t have rights, especially at Molifi Kutumela, where they are forced to come to school every day despite the toilets not being in working order.”
Mtshweni said when the teachers’ toilets are not working, everyone is sent home.
“We want to put an end to all these issues, and we vow to shut down the schools until the MEC for education [deals with the issues],” he said.
Another community leader, Freddy Mosese, said: “We are all here as the community because we are concerned about the safety and health of our children.
The toilets are not working; they are smelly, but the learners continue using them because they are pressed.
The fact remains that we have more than four buses to transport our children to both schools every day, but only one bus is operational; the other three have mechanical problems.
The issue of water needs to be addressed as soon as possible, because it’s a health hazard for everyone, and the overcrowding in buses needs to be addressed too.”
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